NEW BOSTON, Texas-The state will seek the death penalty for a Texas prison inmate accused of beating a guard to death at the Telford unit in New Boston in July.
Bowie County District Attorney Jerry Rochelle made the announcement at an arraignment hearing Friday afternoon for Billy Joel Tracy, 38, before 102nd District Judge Bobby Lockhart. Tracy is accused of beating correctional officer Timothy Davison with a metal tray slot bar during a routine escort July 15, according to Tracy's indictment.
Several Texas Department of Criminal Justice officers surrounded Tracy during the hearing. Tracy, who wore black rimmed glasses and a white jumpsuit with "Ad Seg" printed on the back in red block letters, spoke after his lead defense attorney, Mac Cobb of Mount Pleasant, Texas, asked Lockhart to order TDCJ to allow Tracy "reasonable" access to "personal property," such as a toothbrush.
"My personal property that I had at Telford was confiscated by OIG (Office of Inspector General)," Tracy said.
Rochelle responded by stating that the contents of Tracy's cell in Telford are being held as evidence.
"How is a radio, a hot pot and Ramen noodles, how is that evidence?," Tracy asked.
Cobb whispered something to Tracy and the inmate did not speak again.
Earlier in the hearing, Rochelle handed a large box to the defense.
"This box contains copies of everything in the DA's possession," Rochelle said. "There are still some lab reports and supplemental reports we anticipate receiving. We will provide those to the defense as we receive them."
Rochelle said his office will provide Tracy's lawyers with a copy of video surveillance footage which recorded the attack on Davison.
Lockhart said he is granting defense motions for an investigator and for appointment of a mitigation expert. When Tracy was indicted by a Bowie County grand jury last month, Lockhart appointed Cobb and Texarkana lawyer Jeff Harrelson to defend him. Both are "death qualified," meaning they have met certain requirements necessary to handle a case in which the state is seeking the ultimate punishment. A mitigation expert's job is to find information that might lead a jury to sentence Tracy to life in prison without parole rather than death by lethal injection.
Tracy is currently being held in the Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas, which is nearly four hours away from the Bowie County courthouse. Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp said her office has discussed moving Tracy to a closer prison so he can meet with his defense team more easily.
"I've spoken with TDCJ and it is just not practical to house him at Telford," Crisp said. "They can move him to Coffield. It's not that close but it's closer than Livingston."
The Coffield Unit is in Tennessee Colony, Texas, about three hours from New Boston.
Lockhart told Cobb he wants a tentative trial date from the defense at Tracy's next pretrial hearing, Feb. 26. Lockhart said he does not want to start jury selection later than October because he doesn't want to lose potential jurors who might avoid service during the holiday season.
At the end of the hearing Tracy was returned to the Polunsky Unit.
Tracy has a long history of violence both in and out of prison. Tracy's prison history began in 1995 when he was just 18 and sentenced to a three-year term for retaliation in Tarrant County. Three years later, in 1998, Tracy was sentenced to life, with parole possible, plus 20 years for burglary, aggravated assault and assault on a public servant in Rockwall County.
In 2005, Tracy received an additional 45-year term for stabbing a guard with a homemade weapon at a TDCJ unit in Amarillo. Tracy was sentenced to 10 years in 2009 for attacking a guard at a TDCJ unit in Abilene.
Tracy's violent behavior toward prison staff led to his placement in administrative segregation where he is allowed out of his cell for an hour each day for recreation. Davison, who had less than a year of experience with TDCJ, was walking Tracy back to his cell in administrative segregation when Tracy allegedly managed to free one of his cuffed hands, grab Davison's tray slot bar and use it like a baseball bat to beat him. Tray slot bars are used to manipulate the rectangular opening in a cell door at mealtime.
If convicted of capital murder, Tracy faces life without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.